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The Chaos
The Chaos was a group founded by Darius Lonewander in LY 912. It was originally intended to be a rebellion against the Second Order, but ended up becoming something rather different. He'd thought vaguely about about rebellion for years, ever since the Battle of Triscot in 903, when his clan was supposedly wiped out. They had opposed the Coming of the Order, but Darius himself had been away during that battle, having been unsure of whether he agreed with is clan's position on the war or not (after some time of having been decidedly at odds with their position). His mind was made up after his family were all killed (except for his uncle West), though he wasn't ready to start his rebellion at that time, being only 13 years old. Darius has claimed that he didn't want to start organizing his rebellion until he had a name for it, which was provided for him, unwittingly, by a new acquaintance he made on the evening of 17 Sp'gin, 912: Tom Morales. There are many who disbelieve that the name "The Chaos" failed to occur to him for all those years, and Darius himself admits he finds it unbelievable, but insists it's true. (It has, however, been pointed out that while spirit-talkers began organizing their religion around 390, it wasn't until 404 that they decided upon calling that religion The Order.) In any event, it was that night, after meeting Tom, that he decided to finally start organizing his rebellion. Tom became one of Darius's first two recruits, the other being Tiejo Streetrat, who provided the initial mission for the Chaos. That mission was to travel from Plist (where Darius met Tom and Tiejo) to Near Port, where Tiejo said his master was being held prisoner by the Second Order. However, Tiejo refused to tell them the name of his master, wishing it to be a surprise. On the next evening, 18 Sp'gin, Tom introduced Darius and Tiejo to The Band, a group of traveling minstrels and occasional adventurers, consisting of Alecstar Inco, Cameron Piper, Emma Pseud, Ginger Protestant, and Tino. The five of them also agreed to join the Chaos that night. On the evening of 27 Sp'gin, the Chaos were staying at an inn in Tonad, where for reasons unknown, they were attacked by InterGang, and assisted by LandOrder. That began an uneasy (and unofficial) alliance between the Chaos and LandOrder, and it was at that time that the Chaos was temporarily joined by Jasp Underground. On 2 Sp'mo', while they were in Tanq, the assets of the various members of the Chaos were frozen, as InterVil considered them persons of interest, and an agent, Callum Monogwrangle, attempted to bring them in for questioning. Rather than comply, the Chaos went on the run, and into hiding. They went to Triscot, where they learned that a portion of Darius's family had actually survived, in hiding, in the years since the Coming. The Chaos stayed with the Lonewander clan for some time, but on the night of 6 Sp'mo', however, they were spotted by an agent of the Second Order. When the Chaos left Triscot on 9 Sp'mo', they were followed by Zeke Sanguine, who reported their position to Colonel Charles Woodman on 18 Sp'mo', when they were just one day from Near Port. The next morning, Woodman arrived with a company of soldiers and arrested the Chaos. On 21 Sp'mo', their capture was announced to the world. This led to the passing of the Counter-insurgency Act, on 2 Su'gin. On 9 Su'gin, Woodman announced that the Chaos had been tried and convicted as rebels, though this would later turn out to be untrue. Rather, he was holding them indefinitely, without trial. On 3 Su'yet, a bit more than three months after their capture, the Chaos were rescued by Colonel Stavros Supprus and a platoon under his command, who had for some time been investigating the rumored existence of a secret society called The Cabal, of which Woodman was a member. They returned to Triscot, where they met with Commissioner Mufasa Gothic, Marshal Poss Primus, and Chief Magistrate Thomas Justicar, who agreed to pardon them for their supposed crimes, in light of the revelation that Woodman had been holding Vallus Orator as prisoner in secret for the past nine years, in violation of the Declaration of Amnesty. (Vallus, it turned out, was Tiejo's master.) The Chaos promised to give up their plans of rebellion, and to keep the existence of the Cabal a secret, while the authorities conducted their investigation. However, on 7 Su'yet, the Chaos made an announcement to the world, accusing certain officials of abusing their power (without specifically mentioning the Cabal). The next day, the Cabal's existence was revealed from a different source, as was King Demos Royal's involvement. This led to Demos losing reelection to Quinn Darkstrider, though it seemed as if Demos might be planning to refuse to give up the throne, counting on the Cabal to keep him in power. Meanwhile, Tiejo Streetrat had confessed to killing two agents of the Second Order, Zeke Sanguine and Macen Illustri, in self defense, on the morning of the Chaos's escape from Near Port. Tiejo was subsequently pardoned by Thomas Justicar, but on 21 Su'yet, the Cabal sent an assassin to kill Tiejo. For some time, it was believed the attempt on his life had succeeded, but it would later be learned that it had not. All of these events finally led to the Chaos War, which began on 8 Aut'gin, and ended on 6 Aut'mo'. The various members of the Chaos had taken part in the war, fighting on the side of Poss Primus against those loyal to Demos and the Cabal. (Primus gave them temporary commissions: Alecstar as general; Ginger, Cameron, and Tiejo as lieutenants; Darius, Tom, and Emma as soldiers. Tino did not take part in the war.) Despite the fact that the war wasn't truly about the Chaos, nor was it truly the rebellion originally conceived by Darius Lonewander, the public's perception of the group's actions leading to the war caused it to be named after the Chaos. The efforts of the Chaos also led, the following year, to the secession of five villages from the Second Order, four of which formed the United Villages of the Chaos, the Land's second country. While some former members of the Chaos attained prominent positions within the new country's government, the Chaos itself had ceased to effectively exist as a group (at least as anything more than friends) some time prior to the war that bore its name. Nevertheless, the public (and the press) still commonly refer to Darius, Tom, Tiejo, and the Band collectively by that name. Associates of the Chaos While the Chaos itself technically only consisted of the individuals named in the preceding paragraph, they did meet a number of people in the course of their travels who are often thought of as potential members of the group. Foremost among them, in many people's minds, is Jasp Underground, though his time with the group was brief. (He did, however, later attain a prominent position within the UVC.) Two people who were invited to join, and very briefly considered it, were Marian Frisson and John Fangs. While many people consider the entire Lonewander clan to be de facto members of the Chaos, the one relative of Darius's who came closest to fitting that description was his cousin, Mattholomew Protestant, who traveled with them from Triscot most of the way to Near Port, before parting with them and going on to Kimrin, where he met Stavros Supprus and subsequently aided in the rescue of the Chaos. Stavros himself is considered a close ally of the Chaos, as is Vallus Orator, whom Stavros rescued along with the Chaos. Darius's father, Adam Lonewander, also played a significant role in helping recruit potential allies for the Chaos, and later for the Chaos War. During their time in Triscot, Darius made a quick trip to Shanty, on his father's advice, where he contacted his cousin Cara MakeDo. She was serving on a pirate ship, whose captain, Alphonse Teach, she introduced to Darius. Teach became an important ally, organizing a small fleet that would play a vital part in the war, and later form the foundation of the Chaos Navy. Also during that time, Tom and Tiejo met a man named Arnold Sullenhest, who played a part in organizing rats of various villages to help the Chaos. Prior to that, Tiejo himself had recruited various 'rats to the cause, most notably George Dockrat of Shipsister. He also recruited The Vole in Triscot, and Taryn Hillrat of Kimrin. Various other individuals may have provided incidental assistance to the Chaos in the course of their adventures, but the people listed here are all the ones, as far as we know, to have been specifically allied with the Chaos. See also *Timeline of the Chaos Category:Groups